RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – The NCAA replaced one official Saturday during the first half of the Chattanooga-North Carolina game, citing a background conflict.
Tomi Paris was removed from the first round of the NCAA Tournament and was replaced by Angelica Schuffran, who starred in the venue's first contest.
“There was a change of game officials at halftime of the first-round game between Chattanooga and North Carolina State. This was because it was discovered after the game started that second umpire Tomi Paris had an underlying conflict, and it was made known that If she does, she will be unable to perform her assigned duties,'' the NCAA said in a statement in response to an inquiry from The Associated Press.
Parris' online profile states that she earned a master's degree from Chattanooga. The NCAA requires all parties being considered for participation in the NCAA Tournament to disclose their school affiliations to avoid potential conflicts. In this case, it was not revealed.
Chattanooga coach Sean Poppy said when he found out at halftime, “They literally… just took me to the locker room and said they were going to make a substitution.” “I don't know what happened. I didn't see anything concrete. It's probably the second time in my career that something like this has happened. But the other person was injured. So I knew that. But this, I don't really understand.”
Safran, who was active in the Green Bay-Tennessee game, was on the court during the second half of the Chattanooga-North Carolina game. Daniel Jackson was listed as a standby official for the game.
The NCAA's statement said the decision to bring Safran back on the court was “to provide the maximum on-court experience and maintain full umpires and standby for the game.”
Poppy said: “I thought that's what standby was. But I'm also a novice at this. We're all learning. So I don't know exactly what happened.”
North Carolina State won 64-45.
In the fourth quarter, with the Mox trailing 50-28, Safran was called for a technical foul on Poppy.
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AP March Madness Bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket/ And scope of application: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
